Nipsco Industries Inc., which owns the electric...

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Nipsco Industries Inc., which owns the electric and natural gas utilities in northwest Indiana, said fourth-quarter net income rose 6 percent, to $51.8 million, or 81 cents a share, from $48.9 million, or 75 cents a share, a year earlier.

Sales in the quarter increased 9 percent, to $469 million from $428.2 million a year earlier, as electricity sales and gas sales rose during the cold weather.

For the year, the Hammond-based company said its net income increased 7 percent, to $175.5 million, or $2.72 a share, from $164 million, or $2.48 a share, in 1994.